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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/24463381">Audrey and Dot</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/sarahgirl1998/pseuds/sarahgirl1998'>sarahgirl1998</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Harvey Street Kids (Cartoon)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Audrey Sneezes, Best Friends, Comedy, Donuts, Dot Sneezes, Female Sneezing, Fluff, Fluff and Humor, Fluff and Hurt/Comfort, Friendship, Fun, Gen, Help, Humor, Hurt/Comfort, No Romance, Slight Tearjerker, Sneezing, Tickling, Unofficial Sequel, sad beginning</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-05-31</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-03-01</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-04 01:08:23</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>4</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>12,135</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/24463381</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/sarahgirl1998/pseuds/sarahgirl1998</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Lotta has finally moved away and Audrey is pretty depressed. But Dot reassures her that even though they have one less friend, they still have each other.</p><p>This takes place after the final episode of Harvey Girls Forever - which doesn't exist to me, by the way. If you haven't seen that episode yet, you might not want to read this.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Audrey &amp; Dot (Harvey Street Kids), Audrey/Dot (Harvey Street Kids), Dot &amp; Audrey (Harvey Street Kids), Dot/Audrey (Harvey Street Kids)</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Chapter 1: Memories and Comfort</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Warning: The first chapter of this story is quite sad, even if it does get happier by the end. I would recommend you have some tissues with you before you read this. And you might not want to read this until you've seen Harvey Endings (did I mention that episode doesn't exist to me?) or whatever the final episode is called, unless you like spoilers.</p><p>But don't worry; the rest of the fanfic will be nowhere near as sad. I promise.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>It was a lovely day on Harvey Street, but it wasn't so lovely for Audrey. At first.</p><p>She sat on the sidewalk outside her house, sulking as small tears filled her eyes. She took a deep, long breath and sighed. She looked up at the sky as she blinked, causing the tears to run down her face.</p><p>"It's not fair..." Audrey said to herself. "It's just... no fair..."</p><p>It had been a few days since one of Audrey's best friends, Lotta, had moved away from Harvey Street with her family. Even though they had spent their last day singing that their neighborhood would always be in their hearts, it wasn't going to provide much comfort now. Why did Lotta have to move? Audrey had no idea. It should have been someone who nobody liked, like Melvin.</p><p>Okay, maybe not Melvin. Audrey had a secret crush on him, and was unaware that he was using his jerk attitude to hide his own feelings for her. Maybe Zoe, Audrey's sister, should have been the one to move instead. They didn't like each other that much at all, anyway...</p><p>Audrey sniffled loudly and wiped at her teary eyes with her forefinger. As she did this, she heard some footsteps coming close to her. Then a familiar voice.</p><p>"Audrey?"</p><p>Audrey turned her head to look at who had said her name. It was Dot, her other best friend.</p><p>"Oh, hey, Dot," Audrey greeted her.</p><p>"Hey, Audrey. Are you alright?" Dot wanted to know. She sounded a bit concerned. "What's the matter?"</p><p>Another sniffle from Audrey. "Don't act like you don't know. Just... Don't. You know what happened."</p><p>"Is this about Lotta?"</p><p>Just hearing the name of their friend who had just departed was enough to break Audrey. She covered her face with her hands, sobbing loudly. Dot frowned, knowing she had made her even sadder, and then sat down next to Audrey.</p><p>"I'm sorry, Audrey," Dot apologized. "But I kind of figured she's why you're so unhappy."</p><p>"You're darn right I'm unhappy...!" Audrey choked out.</p><p>Dot reached into her pocket and pulled out a little pack of tissues. She pulled one of the tissues out and offered it to Audrey. She wiped her eyes rather roughly with it, but didn't blow her nose; instead, she just gave another loud sniffle and willingly swallowed the phlegm that had wandered into her throat. It was only then that she rubbed her nose with the same tissue.</p><p>"Look, I know you're upset that Lotta's gone," said Dot. "We all are deep down, but I can tell you're the most upset of all."</p><p>Audrey nodded and continued to wipe her eyes. Dot placed her hand around her shoulder.</p><p>"I miss Lotta, too, Audrey," Dot mentioned. "But you know what? It's not her fault she moved away. Perhaps one of her parents got a new job somewhere, or just couldn't afford to live here anymore. Or maybe they found a nicer place to live."</p><p>Audrey just sniffled in response. She didn't know why Dot was telling her this; was it so that she could have an excuse to be unhappy with Lotta's parents, rather than Lotta herself? But the next thing Dot told her proved her otherwise.</p><p>"Moving from one place to another is a part of life," said Dot, proving Audrey that the answer to her question was no. "And unfortunately, losing a friend for one reason or another is also a part of life. The most we can do is just accept it when it happens."</p><p>"I don't know, Dot..."</p><p>It was a bit obvious that Audrey wasn't feeling much better. Fortunately, Dot had a few positive things to say about their friend.</p><p>"The two of us had a wonderful friendship with Lotta," Dot said, "and she had a wonderful friendship with us. We shared all manner of memories together, both bitter and sweet."</p><p>"We do?" Audrey looked at her, almost looking like she had puppy eyes due to how sad she was.</p><p>"We did. And even if she's not here anymore, we will always remember her. And she will always remember us."</p><p>Audrey took a moment to think about this, and then gave a little smile.</p><p>"You know, Dot..." Audrey wiped her eyes a bit more, this time with one of her hands. "You're right. I will always remember her. And there's no way she'd forget about us, is there?"</p><p>"There certainly isn't," said Dot. She was smiling as well; her attempt to make her friend feel better was working. "And there's one more thing I'd like to tell you."</p><p>"What is it?" Audrey wanted to know.</p><p>"Even if we don't have Lotta with us anymore, we still have each other."</p><p>Audrey smiled even more. She didn't feel that much like crying anymore - at least, not out of sadness.</p><p>"You mean...?"</p><p>"Yes, Audrey." Dot nodded. "What matters is that you're here for me, and I'm here for you. And we can do anything we want together."</p><p>Audrey tried to say something, but couldn't manage anything other than a touched, "Oh, Dot...!"</p><p>She reached over and wrapped her arms around Dot for a big hug. Dot looked a bit surprised at first, but quickly returned the favor. They kept one another in each other's arms for a long time. Audrey could feel tears coming out of her eyes again - but these weren't tears of sadness. They were tears of joy.</p><p>The best part of all was that Dot hadn't been joking. Even if life without Lotta wouldn't be the same, it would get better. Because Audrey and Dot were still the best of friends, and if they didn't have her, they still had each other.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Chapter 2</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Now that Dot had helped Audrey out of her little emotional breakdown and made her feel better, the first thing they did was make their way into the Harvey Girls' trailer. It might as well be Audrey and Dot's trailer now that Lotta was gone.</p><p>"Alright, Audrey," Dot started as they made their way into the common room. "I know it's hard dealing with the fact that Lotta is gone, but that's something I'm more than willing to help you do."</p><p>Audrey smiled when she said that. "Thanks, Dot."</p><p>"Of course, we're not going to forget our friend. We're just going to adjust to having fun without her," Dot clarified, "since the Harvey Girls consist of just the two of us now. Where would you like to start?"</p><p>As the two of them thought about how to begin their bonding session, Audrey got an idea that made her smile. She went over to the toy box, where she and Dot kept most of their toys that they'd brought here. She opened it up and began to look through it, hoping a certain thing she wanted to play with was inside it.</p><p>Even though Lotta had retrieved most of her own toys from this box just days before she moved, Audrey could tell that there were still plenty more to keep her and Dot busy. After a few seconds of moving things around, Audrey smiled and pulled it out. It was a pink flying disc with a yellow star in the middle.</p><p>"Ah, here it is!" said Audrey. She looked over at her friend. "Hey, Dot, you wanna play with my disc? I don't think we've gotten to play with it since Lotta moved."</p><p>"Of course," Dot replied with a smile. "I don't believe we have, either. And besides, it would be a good way for us to get some exercise."</p><p>Audrey nodded in agreement, keeping her smile as she did so. Not long afterward, Audrey and Dot had come back outside, with Audrey holding her flying disc in her hand. They stood outside the trailer, about a foot in front of each other. And it was from there that they began their game of catch.</p><p>Audrey held her disc behind her neck, and then gave the first throw. It took Dot a brief jump in order to catch the disc, and then she threw it back to her. Audrey caught it just by holding her arm up at the right time. Audrey then held her disc behind her body, then gave one spin before she threw it again. Dot had to jump up in order to catch it before it flew past her. Then she also spun a bit before she threw it back at Audrey. Audrey tried to catch the disc, but it was too late - the flying disc had disappeared past her head. She and Dot could only look on as it flew somewhere else.</p><p>Realizing what she'd done, Dot rubbed the back of her neck sheepishly. "Um, sorry, Audrey... I suppose I wasn't being as careful as I usually am."</p><p>But Audrey just laughed a bit at their little mistake. "You know what, Dot? It's alright, I probably would've thrown it too far, too. Let's go look for it, okay?"</p><p>Dot nodded in agreement, and before long, the two of them split up to look for the flying disc. Audrey looked around some trees as well as in the branches of the trees, while Dot went to look in the bushes. After a couple minutes of searching, Dot finally found Audrey's flying disc.</p><p>While looking through some bushes, Dot spotted the flying disc right in the center of one of them. It was surrounded by twigs and leaves, with the outside of the bush having a small number of blooming flowers. Dot reached her hand in, rather cautiously, but then grabbed onto the disc. As she pulled it out, though, the scent of one of the flowers found its way into her nose, causing it to twitch. Lowering her eyelids, Dot moved her free hand up in front of her mouth as her breath began to hitch. Was she going to sneeze?</p><p>"Hehh... Haaaah..."</p><p>But before she could go beyond two inhales, the tickle in her nose as well as her urge to sneeze faded away, probably because she'd moved her nose away from the flower. What remained was a faint tickle in Dot's nose. Dot stood back up and sighed with relief as she rubbed her nose with the side of her hand, while the tickle slowly went away. Smiling in relief, she went back over to Audrey, who was still looking up at one of the trees, and showed her the disc just as she turned to look at her.</p><p>"Here's your disc back, Audrey."</p><p>"Thanks, Dot." Audrey smiled as she took her flying disc back. "I'd like to keep playing with this, but I'm not so sure now that we've lost it once..."</p><p>"It's alright," said Dot. "Let's go back to the trailer and find something else to play with. Not that I didn't enjoy our game of catch, of course; I just don't want to risk losing and having to look for any more toys."</p><p>"Yeah, that's a good point."</p><p>With that, Audrey and Dot returned to the trailer. Almost as soon as they'd gotten there, Audrey put her flying disc back in the toy box where she'd gotten it. At least she and her friend would know where to find it the next time they wanted to play with it.</p><p>"Now that we're back inside," said Dot, "what would you like to do next?"</p><p>Audrey put her forefinger to her chin as she thought for a few seconds. It took her a bit longer than she and Dot expected, but finally she came up with an idea.</p><p>"How about we play with our Horn-a-Corn toys?" she suggested.</p><p>The idea made Dot smile. "That's a great idea!"</p><p>Audrey went back over to the toy box and searched for the toys. It took her almost a minute, but she finally found each of her and Dot's favorite Horn-a-Corn plush toys. Audrey smiled, pulled the plush toys out and brought them over to Dot before kneeling down. Dot knelt down as well while Audrey put down the toys.</p><p>When Audrey picked up her favorite toy, however, she saw that there was a bit of dust on it. It must have been from how long it had been since she last played with it. She placed her hand on the top of the toy and swiped it back and forth, brushing the dust off. But as she did so, the dust made its way into Dot's face.</p><p>Dot's eyes widened and her pupils shrunk as her nose began to twitch. Then she lowered her eyelids, tilted her head away from Audrey, and let loose.</p><p>"Heh-tchew!" A small amount of spray made its way out of Dot's mouth as she released the sneeze. She had enough time to open her eyes slightly, but couldn't do anything else before another sneeze came out. "Haaah-tchyeww!"</p><p>She turned back to Audrey, opening her eyes halfway as she rubbed her nose rather slowly with her arm. "Excuse me," said Dot.</p><p>"Bless ya," Audrey replied, to which Dot responded with a little smile. "Uh, sorry I made you sneeze."</p><p>"Oh, it's quite alright," Dot said before she pulled her arm away from her nose. "It's no surprise; I assume it's been a while since we played with these."</p><p>She picked up one of her favorite Horn-a-Corn toys, seeing it also had a small amount dust on it. She moved the toy away from Audrey, then picked up a rag and she began to wipe it clean. The dust floated away into the air, thankfully without being close enough to make either of them sneeze - although it did bring a faint tickle to Audrey's nose.</p><p>Audrey brought her hand up to rub her nose with it, and it slowly stopped itching. She put her hand down with a satisfied smile upon her face.</p><p>For the next few minutes, Audrey and Dot played with their Horn-a-Corn toys; they had conversations as the characters and pretended to go on some adventures. But after some time, Audrey felt a rumble in her stomach, which Dot heard.</p><p>"Are you alright, Audrey?" Dot wanted to know.</p><p>Audrey blushed a bit as she placed her hand over her belly. "Yeah, I'm fine," she said, "but I guess I'm getting hungry."</p><p>"You know, I figured that would be the case," said Dot. "Besides, I'm getting hungry, too. Let's put our toys away before we decide what to have for lunch, okay?"</p><p>"Sounds good."</p><p>Audrey and Dot stood back up, and then brought their preferred Horn-a-Corn toys back to the toy box. Audrey closed it, and then she and Dot made their way into the kitchen. Almost as soon as they got there, Dot went over to the sink, switched on the cold water and ran the water underneath her hands.</p><p>"It's important to wash your hands after playing, you know," she mentioned to Audrey, "whether you prepare food afterward or not."</p><p>Audrey nodded in agreement, seeing the point she was making. Dot then switched off the sink and wiped her hands off with a small towel, while Audrey went up to the sink to wash her hands as well. Soon she had finished and dried her hands off as well.</p><p>"So, Audrey," Dot started, "what would you like to eat for lunch?"</p><p>Audrey thought for a moment, but then smiled as she remembered something. "We've got some donuts in the fridge! And they haven't expired, either!"</p><p>Dot smiled as well. "Very well, then. That being said, we'll have to walk them off after we're finished..."</p><p>Audrey didn't mind, of course. Even if she wasn't a big eater, she was more than willing to run around after she was done eating something, as long as it helped her let off some steam.</p><p>Dot went over to the cupboard and pulled out two paper plates, then brought them over to the table. Audrey, on the other hand, went over to the refrigerator and opened it up. Then she reached in and pulled out a container of opened donuts - there were five crumb donuts and five powdered donuts inside. There were originally six of both flavors when the container had been bought, but Audrey had shared a crumb donut with Tiny and a powdered donut with Lucretia a couple of days before.</p><p>Audrey placed two donuts on her plate - one crumb and one powdered - with her hand, while Dot used a napkin to place two donuts of the same flavor onto her plate. She then folded up the napkin, pulled out a fork and sat at the table. Audrey put the container of donuts back in the fridge before she sat at the table as well. Then they began to eat.</p><p>Audrey picked up her powdered donut and bit into it, smiling as she chewed. It had a uniquely tasty flavor that she wished other sweets would have. That being said, a small amount of powdered sugar from the donut made its way onto her nose, tickling it slightly. But for the time being, she ignored it, watching as Dot cut off a small portion of her crumb donut with the side of her fork, then brought the piece into her mouth.</p><p>"Mmm." Dot swallowed, a contented smile upon her face. "These donuts are delicious. It's a shame they're as unhealthy as they are..."</p><p>"Yeah." Audrey nodded once in agreement and continued to eat her powdered donut. Bite by bite, she could feel the itch in her nose increasing from the fine powdered sugar.</p><p>But only when she had finished the donut did she become aware of the tickle in her nose. "W-what the...?"</p><p>"Hm?" Dot swallowed her second bite of her donut as she looked up at Audrey. "What's the matter, Audrey?"</p><p>"I'm not sure..." Audrey replied with a sniffle. "I was just eating my powdered donut, but then my nose just started tickling..." She rubbed her nose with her wrist, but it became clear that it wasn't helping.</p><p>"Hmm..." Dot thought for a moment about what was going on. "It looks like the powdered sugar is bothering your nose. Perhaps a sneeze will help..."</p><p>Audrey could only hope that would be the case. Dot handed her a napkin, which Audrey took and held in front of her mouth. Her breath began to hitch. Was she going to sneeze?</p><p>"Aaah... Haaaaah..." Audrey inhaled, tilting her neck backward. Dot looked on in concern as she did so. "Haaaaaah...!"</p><p>"Nntchu!" Audrey shot her neck forwards as she released one heck of an unsatisfactory sneeze into the napkin. She then sat where she was, looking dazed as she had her forefinger underneath her nose. "Uugh..."</p><p>"Bless you," said Dot. Audrey rubbed her nose in response. "I have to admit, I was not expecting that kind of sneeze..."</p><p>"Yeah. Me neither." Audrey sniffled loudly and continued to rub her nose, which still tickled quite a bit. "Might as well finish my other donut before I sneeze again."</p><p>Dot nodded in understanding as she continued to eat her own donuts as well. Within a couple of minutes, Audrey had consumed her remaining donut, without having to rush. The crumb donut didn't make her nose tickle like the powdered donut did, but it didn't do anything to provide relief, either. Once she was done, she let Dot finish and wipe her mouth with her own napkin before they went back to their situation.</p><p>"We may have to induce that sneeze if we want it to bring more relief to your nose, Audrey," said Dot.</p><p>"You know, I kind of figured that." Another loud sniffle from Audrey.</p><p>Dot turned her head this way and that, trying to find something that could make Audrey sneeze. But all she saw were the salt and pepper shakers on the table they had eaten at. She picked up the pepper shaker.</p><p>"Well, I suppose we could use this," Dot said, "but we don't want it to make you sneeze too massively."</p><p>"You mean, like the whale from the Pinocchio movie?"</p><p>Dot nodded in agreement before she continued. "I have a theory: if you simply inhale the scent of the pepper through your nose, that should be enough to make you sneeze. I know how much pepper makes you sneeze, after all, but we won't know if it'll work until we try it..."</p><p>Audrey thought about Dot's idea, and then nodded to accept it. "I guess it's worth a shot."</p><p>Dot then brought the pepper to Audrey's face, making sure the holes of the lid were right underneath Audrey's nostrils. She looked a bit nervous, but took a slow, deep sniff, sending the pepper's scent into her nose.</p><p>"AHHHH-TCHOOOOOOOOOO!!!" It was then that Audrey exploded, unexpectedly, right into the pepper. Dot winced in surprise and moved the pepper away, but she was too late; a cloud of pepper had already floated up to Audrey's nose. She broke into a sneezing fit, making sure to cover her mouth with the napkin Dot had given her.</p><p>"HAH-CHOOOOOOO!!! TCHUUUUUUU!!! AH-CHOOOOOOO!!! HAAAH-TCHOOOOOO!!! NNNTCHUUUUUUUUUU!!! Aaaah... AAAAAHHHHHH-CHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!"

</p><p>The sneezes were loud and forceful, but none of them were as massive as she and Dot had feared. And each one brought a good amount of relief to Audrey's nose, especially compared to the little one that her donut's sugar had caused. That being said, Dot couldn't help but look on in concern.</p><p>As her fit drew to a close, Audrey placed her forefinger back underneath her nose as she sulked. She rubbed her nose slowly and cutely, sniffling here and there.</p><p>"Oh, my..." Dot said in worry before she blessed Audrey. "Gesundheit, Audrey!"</p><p>"Thanks..." Audrey continued to rub her nose, which Dot noticed looked a bit red.</p><p>Dot got up from the table and briefly walked away, then came back with a tissue. She handed it to Audrey, who blew her nose almost as soon as she'd taken it. It took her a couple of tries, but soon she had cleared her nose, so she began wiping it with the tissue.</p><p>"Are you feeling any better?" Dot wanted to know. To her relief, Audrey nodded.</p><p>"Yeah. Those were some pretty mean sneezes, but they felt great." Audrey gave another sniff. "Thanks for getting those out for me, Dot."</p><p>"You're welcome," said Dot. "But perhaps next time, I should find something else to make you sneeze with..."</p><p>"Ah, don't worry about that," Audrey replied. "What matters is that it worked. But I just hope nobody else heard it..."</p><p>Dot went over to the window of the kitchen to look outside. If there were some kids there, they were playing, not approaching the trailer.</p><p>"It doesn't look like it," said Dot.</p><p>"Good." Audrey just smiled and continued to wipe her nose, until she thought her nose was feeling better.</p><p>Dot put the pepper shaker back where she'd gotten it, but its faint scent wafted into her nose. She had a pre-sneeze expression for a moment, but then doubled over as she released a single, sprayless sneeze. "Tchyew!"</p><p>And just like that, Dot was rubbing her nose gingerly with her forefinger. Audrey couldn't help but chuckle in amusement.</p><p>"Bless ya," said Audrey.</p><p>"Thank you. And excuse me." Dot rubbed her nose a bit more, and then sniffled somewhat audibly before she pulled her finger away from her nose. </p><p>"You know, that sneeze kinda sounded like Fluttershy sneezing," Audrey mentioned.</p><p>Dot looked at her for a moment, but then giggled a bit. "It did, didn't it? Well, it certainly wasn't the same as yours..."</p><p>"Nope." Audrey finally pulled her tissue away from her nose. "It's kinda cool how the ways we sneeze can tell the two of us apart."</p><p>"I have to admit, it is interesting," Dot agreed.</p><p>Audrey then got up from the table, hinting she had finally recovered from her sneezing fit. She threw out her used napkin as well as her tissue, and then she helped Dot clear the table. Then the two of them washed their hands; Audrey washed hers first, and then Dot.</p><p>"Well, now that we've put that whole sneezy situation behind us," said Dot, "what would you like to do now?"</p><p>Audrey thought for a moment, and then came up with an idea. "I think I know what I'd like to do now. Can you guess?"</p><p>"But of course!" Dot replied. "Would you like to have a race?" But Audrey shook her head in denial.</p><p>"Well, then, would you like to jump on that extra bouncy trampoline?" Audrey shook her head once again.</p><p>"How about listen to Crush4U?" Another shake from Audrey's head.</p><p>"Well, what would you like to do?" Dot finally asked. She'd more or less given up, although she didn't admit it.</p><p>Audrey looked at her with a smile. "I wanna show you this sweet book I brought here a long time ago. It's not based on the Horn-a-Corns, but it's awesome."</p><p>"Oh, really?" Dot asked, looking like she was interested. "Of course, Audrey. If you think it's a great way to pass the time, I'm sure I will, too."</p><p>Audrey smiled and went into the common room of the trailer, while Dot followed her from behind. Audrey went over to the bookshelf, where she and Dot kept their favorite books of all kinds, and then began to look through it.</p><p>"Hmm, where did I put that?" Dot could hear her mutter, but she knew she was asking that to herself. Even if she was being as patient as she could be, she was excited to see the book, whatever it was.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Chapter 3</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>It took her a few minutes of searching, but Audrey finally found the book she was looking for. She gave a satisfied smile as she reached into the bookshelf and pulled it out.</p><p>"Here it is!" said Audrey.</p><p>Hearing her say that caused Dot to smile as well. "Oh, good. What's this book you wanted to show me, Audrey?"</p><p>Audrey went over to her, standing next to her once she'd gotten close enough. She showed her the cover of the book, and Dot read it.</p><p>"SpongeBob Squarepants: Look and Find?"</p><p>"Yep." Audrey nodded to confirm that that was what the book was called. "In this kind of book, you can find all sorts of cool and funny stuff going on in each page. And you just have to find all the things the book points out to you."</p><p>"I think I've heard of that before," said Dot. "What happens in this book?"</p><p>Audrey turned the book over and read the text on the back side.</p><p>"Bikini Bottom goes bottoms up when SpongeBob is bonked on his spongy head. Finding himself in the wacky Welcome Land, our porous pal realizes that there's no place like home. Help SpongeBob look around Welcome Land and find a way back to his pineapple under the sea and all of his friends."</p><p>"That is a very interesting premise," Dot commented. "Although it does sound a bit like The Wizard of Oz."</p><p>"Yeah, except with SpongeBob and without the tornado or the witch," replied Audrey.</p><p>She chuckled, and Dot joined in not long after. Then the two of them made their way over to the couch and sat down on it: Audrey sat on the left side while Dot sat on the right, but both of them were close enough that they could read the book together. Then Audrey opened the book up to the first scene.</p><p>"Oh, my!" Dot said with a gasp of disbelief. "What a massive mess! How did this happen to poor SpongeBob and his friends?"</p><p>"Yeah, the poor guy's looking all dazed and confused," Audrey replied, referring to the detail of SpongeBob looking dazed and rubbing his head. "But let's read the words on it so we know what's going on."</p><p>It was then that she began to read the text on the left side of the page.</p><p>"Ahoy, mates!" Audrey read. "It's springtime in Bikini Bottom, and SpongeBob Squarepants needs to do his spring cleaning. If only he could find his springs."</p><p>"When he opens his closet to find them, everything crashes down on his spongy head. Look through the mess for this silly stuff that bonked his brains."</p><p>"Hmm," Dot said as she thought about this. "And what do we need to find?"</p><p>Audrey looked at the items underneath the text, reading the words underneath them.</p><p>"We've gotta find a jellyfish net, a box of comic books, a sink, a can of snail food, a spatula, a catcher's mask, some cymbals and some hot sauce," said Audrey. She then smiled as she quickly found a couple of those objects. "Hey, there's the catcher's mask! And there's the sink."</p><p>Dot saw a familiar box of books and placed her finger upon said box. "The comics are over here." When she looked up, she saw the jellyfish net as well. "And here's the net."</p><p>And in less than a minute, the two girls had found the hot sauce, the spatula, the snail food and the cymbals, too. They both had a satisfied smile upon their faces.</p><p>"That wasn't so hard," Dot stated. "Then again, this book is meant for children like ourselves, perhaps younger."</p><p>"Yeah. And besides, it's neat seeing all the things in each page!" said Audrey. "That's why I love reading this book over and over. Now let's go to the next page."</p><p>She placed her hand underneath the page and turned it over. The next thing she and Dot knew was that SpongeBob wasn't in his house anymore.</p><p>"Hmm... I don't remember SpongeBob being in this setting in any episode," said Dot.</p><p>"Yeah, me neither," said Audrey. She began to read the words on the left side of the page.</p><p>"The junk from SpongeBob's closet knocked him silly - or sillier, rather. When he wakes up, he's somewhere that doesn't look like his living room. 'Hopping clams! What's going on?' asks the startled sponge.</p><p>"'You're in Welcome Land!' shouts the crowd. 'Welcome!'</p><p>"While SpongeBob is trying to make some sense of his senses, look around and find these super-happy characters."</p><p>"Knocked him silly...?" Dot wondered to herself, figuring out what was going on. But she decided that it wasn't the time to tell Audrey, since they hadn't gotten to the end of the book yet. "Welcome Land, huh? That's quite strange. What is it that we're supposed to find here?"</p><p>Audrey looked at the objects underneath the text.</p><p>"We have to find a Not-Krabby Mr. Krabs, a Peppy Patrick, a Cheeky Sandy Cheeks, a Slaphappy Squidward, a festive flounder, a tickled tuna, a jolly jellyfish and a happy halibut. Let's look for them." Her eyes lit up as she immediately spotted two of the characters. "There's Mr. Krabs, and the tuna!"</p><p>Dot began to search, then placed her forefinger upon the first thing she saw. "And there's Patrick. Also, Sandy's up here - oh, and Squidward is over here. It's weird seeing him as happy as everyone else, but at the same time, quite heartwarming."</p><p>"Yeah." Not long after, Audrey spotted the jellyfish, while Dot found the flounder and the halibut. With this page being completed as well, they turned the page.</p><p>"SpongeBob loves a parade," read Audrey, "so when the wacky residents of Welcome Land held a parade just for him, SpongeBob was thrilled to cruise down Main Street."</p><p>"But let's face it, we'd all be thrilled to participate in a parade just for us," Dot commented. "It would be some of the happiest and most joyful moments of life."</p><p>"Look around the parade route to find all this seaworthy silliness. We have to find a squid with a scarf, an eel with earmuffs, a carp with a cold, a snail on a scooter, a baby with a barnacle balloon, some sausage skates, a trout in a toupee and a crayfish with a crayon."</p><p>And just after she was done looking at the table of text and pictures, Audrey found one of the fish.</p><p>"There's the carp with a cold."</p><p>"I'll give him credit for being able to make it to the parade," Dot mentioned. "But I certainly hope the others don't get sick, too."</p><p>"Believe me, they don't," Audrey said with a smile. She placed her forefinger on another one of the fish. "There's the eel with the earmuffs!"</p><p>"And the snail on the scooter is over here," Dot said as she placed her finger on the snail. "I wonder how Gary is able to ride that... Oh, and here's the crawfish with the crayon. And the baby with the barnacle balloon is right here."</p><p>"The squid is over here, too!" said Audrey. "And the trout with a toupee, too!"</p><p>It took both of them a couple of minutes to find the last thing, the pair of sausage skates, but eventually they did. Audrey turned the page.</p><p>"This one's my favorite," Audrey told Dot. "Why don't you read it?"</p><p>Dot nodded in agreement and read the text on the left side of the page.</p><p>"After the parade," said Dot, "the Mayor of Welcome Land escorts SpongeBob home. 'Welcome to your new home, SpongeBob! You're always welcome here!' SpongeBob cannot believe his porous peepers. He has never seen such sandtastic stuff!"</p><p>"Sandtastic?" Audrey asked. "More like fant-awesome-stic!" She chuckled a bit at her little joke, and Dot chuckled as well. Then she began to read the list of things she and Audrey had to find.</p><p>"Look around SpongeBob's new home and see what he sees. And on this page, we have to find a seahorse carousel, a pickle pinball machine, a snail racetrack, a taffy trampoline, a spatula sculpture, a Krabby Patty paint kit, a mud pie playpen and..." She raised an eyebrow in disbelief at the last object she read. "...some spaghetti and meatball sundae sandwiches?"</p><p>"I don't know about you, but those definitely sound like something I'd wanna eat," Audrey said, looking like she had a cat smile. She looked on the left side of the page and smiled. "There's the snail racetrack! And the seahorse carousel - did I say that right? - and the trampoline, and the paint set."</p><p>"The pinball machine is over here." Dot placed her forefinger upon it. "And here's the sculpture, and the mud pie playpen with Patrick in it, and the sandwiches."</p><p>"I don't know about you, but I would not mind living in a house this awesome," Audrey mentioned. "There's just too much stuff to do here! I'll never decide where to start!"</p><p>"It wouldn't surprise me," Dot stated, "I wouldn't make up my mind, either." She turned the page.</p><p>"Alright, this one has a lot of weird foods, so don't take them too seriously," Audrey pointed out. Dot nodded in understanding before Audrey began to read.</p><p>"All of this excitement in Welcome Land has given SpongeBob a very unsinkable hunger. He feels like he could eat a giant sea squid and wash it down with a whole platter of Krabby Patties. But the folks of Welcome Land have special treats in store for him. Look around this seaworthy spread to find these foods SpongeBob can't wait to try."</p><p>"And what are these foods we need to find?" Dot asked.</p><p>"We have to find a peanut and pretzel pizza," Audrey said, causing Dot to put her hand over her mouth, "some coral kabobs, a tuba sandwich, a tube sock salad, a salmon soupwich, a squid shake, an upside-down sideways cake, and flat tire flapjacks." She turned back to Dot. "See, I told you these foods would be weird."</p><p>"Indeed, they are..." Dot looked a bit nauseated, but she gave a loud gulp to keep herself from getting too sick. "Of those, I would say the coral kabobs and the cake would be the least yucky."</p><p>"Well, you're not wrong," said Audrey. She then began to look for the objects, starting at the left side of the page. "Here's the flat tire flapjacks. And here's the squid shake."</p><p>"The soupwich is over here," Dot said as she placed her forefinger somewhere on the right side of the page. "And there's the pizza..."</p><p>Dot then turned away from the book as she placed her hand back over her mouth. Audrey looked at her, raising an eyebrow in curiosity.</p><p>"You okay?"</p><p>"Yes, I'm alright," Dot replied. "I suppose these foods are a bit too... unappetizing for me."</p><p>"It's alright, they kind of are," said Audrey. "At least neither of us have to eat them. How about I find the rest for you?"</p><p>"That would be nice, thank you."</p><p>And in less than a minute, Audrey had found the other unusual dishes on both the left and right pages. Then she turned the page, and Dot turned to look at the book again. To her relief, she couldn't see any disgusting food on this page.</p><p>"The friendly Welcome Land folks see that SpongeBob is getting homesick," Audrey read. "SpongeBob starts to miss his friends in Bikini Bottom and their favorite things."</p><p>"The well-meaning characters of Welcome Land bring things to remind SpongeBob of home. Unfortunately, everything is just a little wrong. See if you can find what is wrong before SpongeBob does."</p><p>Dot looked over at the left side of the page. As she described what she and Audrey had to find, she couldn't help but stifle a laugh or two.</p><p>"We have to find Squidward's trombone, Patrick's shirt, Sandy Cheeks' bio-cube, Gary's fur shampoo, Mr. Krabs' Krabby chicken leg, Pearl's tutu, Plankton's nice guy award, and Mrs. Puff's boat plane?"</p><p>It wasn't until she'd listed the final thing that she finally let out a few chuckles. Audrey chuckled as well.</p><p>"Yeah, this is how you can tell nobody in Welcome Land REALLY knows SpongeBob," said Audrey.</p><p>"Indeed," said Dot. "There's Plankton with his, um, award."</p><p>"And there's the boat plane," Audrey said.</p><p>In less than a minute, they had found the other six objects. Dot couldn't help but laugh when she saw that the banner - the one that was supposed to read Welcome Land - had its letters scrambled. When the girls found everything that was listed, they turned to the next page.</p><p>"And now SpongeBob is dizzy again," Dot stated, looking a bit worried.</p><p>"Yeah." Audrey then began to read the text on the left side of the page.</p><p>"SpongeBob is very homesick for Bikini Bottom. To get back home, he needs to un-bump his head. SpongeBob begins to run in circles - and runs right into a mailbox. Now he is seeing stars and stripes, and frogs, and toads..."</p><p>"What isn't he seeing right now?" Dot asked with a light chuckle. Audrey chuckled in agreement.</p><p>"See if you can find this nautical nonsense floating around SpongeBob's head," Audrey finished. "We have to find a sea horse, Saturn, a donkey, a cuckoo bird, some stars, a spatula, a xylophone and a submarine sandwich." She then pointed somewhere next to the table of text. "There's the submarine sandwich!"</p><p>"And there are the stars." Dot pointed somewhere else.</p><p>In about half a minute, they had also found the sea horse, Saturn, the donkey, the cuckoo bird, the spatula and the xylophone. They turned to the last page.</p><p>"Alright, last one," Audrey acknowledged. "Let's find the objects first before we read the end of this story, okay?"</p><p>Dot nodded and then read the last instructions. "Find these things that Patrick used to wake up SpongeBob; some smelling salts, a noisemaker, a megaphone, a drum, a yipping dog, a horn, a rooster and a jackhammer."</p><p>Dot looked at the right side of the page and placed her forefinger somewhere. "The rooster is right here, and the yipping dog is over here."</p><p>"And here's the horn, and the megaphone," Audrey replied as she placed her forefinger somewhere, and then somewhere else.</p><p>Soon they were finished finding them, and Audrey read the text she hadn't read before she found the objects.</p><p>"Patrick stops by and finds SpongeBob on the floor. Patrick wheels his porous friend to his place and tries to wake him up, using everything he can think of. Finally, SpongeBob wakes up. Patrick welcomes him home, but SpongeBob doesn't want to hear the word 'welcome' ever again."</p><p>And then she closed the book. "The end."</p><p>"I have to admit, Audrey, that was a very interesting and entertaining book," Dot mentioned. "I actually had quite a bit of fun seeing everything."</p><p>"So did I," Audrey agreed. "See, I told you it was awesome."</p><p>"Indeed, it was," said Dot. "I bet Lotta would think so, too, if she were here with us."</p><p>"I wouldn't be surprised," replied Audrey. "I remember watching a bunch of SpongeBob episodes and the first movie with her."</p><p>"So do I. Let's read this book again sometime."</p><p>Audrey nodded in agreement. Then she stepped off the couch, went back over to the bookshelf, and put the book away. It wasn't in the same spot she'd gotten it from, but that was alright. At least she would have some way of finding it the next time she and Dot wanted to read it.</p><p>"Alright, Dot," said Audrey, "now that we're done reading that book, what do you wanna do now?"</p><p>Dot tried to think of what to do next, but couldn't come up with anything specific. While she was thinking, a faint tickle found its way into her nose, but before she could actually pay attention to it, the tickle faded away.</p><p>"Hmm, that's strange..." Dot muttered to herself.</p><p>"What's strange?" Audrey asked.</p><p>"I had to sneeze just a few moments ago," Dot mentioned, "but it faded away before I could do it."</p><p>"Oh, really? Hmm..." Audrey thought to herself about what to do. Just then, an idea came to her. "Looks like we'll have to make you sneeze somehow."</p><p>'You know, I kind of figured that." Dot gave a light sniffle.</p><p>Audrey looked out of the window of the trailer, seeing some dandelions and other flowers outside. She didn't know if Dot had a pollen allergy, but she did know that flowers could make her sneeze. But what if one of the dandelions could make her sneeze, too? Audrey went over to the front door, placed her hand on the doorknob, turned it and pushed it open. Then she headed outside for a few moments, and came back in. Dot could see that she was holding one of the white, fluffy dandelions in her hand.</p><p>"Maybe if you sniff this dandelion," Audrey said, "it'll make you need to sneeze. Wanna try it?"</p><p>Dot thought for a moment, and then approached her. "I suppose I don't see why not."</p><p>Staying by her side so she wouldn't get sprayed, Audrey held the dandelion underneath Dot's nose. She began to inhale through her nose, smelling it as gently as she could. The fuzzy white ball of fluff tickled her nostrils already, but a few small seeds found their way into her nose, which made it itch even more. Dot's eyes watered as her eyelids fell shut, and her nostrils flared up. She was about to sneeze.</p><p>"Ehh... Hehhh... HIIIH..." Dot tilted her upper body as far back as it could go, and then sent it forwards as she exploded.</p><p>"HAAAAAHHHHH-SHUUUUUUUUUU!!!!!"</p><p>Dot's sneeze was quite loud, and forceful enough to blow all of the remaining seeds right off the dandelion. Audrey watched in surprise as the soft pollen was sent right out the door. When she looked back at Dot, she was sulking a bit, rubbing her slightly runny nose with her forefinger.</p><p>"Gesundheit!" Audrey said.</p><p>"Thank you." Dot sniffled audibly as she continued to rub her nose. "That was quite a sneeze I did there..."</p><p>"Yeah," Audrey agreed. "I guess it was just too tickly for your nose, huh?"</p><p>Dot nodded, and then went over to a tissue box. She pulled a tissue out of it, and pinched her nose with it as she blew her nose. It took her a couple of forceful exhales, but she managed to clear her nose. With a sigh of relief, Dot threw her tissue away, pulled out a second tissue and wiped her nose with it.</p><p>"I'm not surprised the dandelion made me sneeze," said Dot. "They do have a unique kind of pollen, after all - I'd say inhaling it isn't much different from inhaling, say, the strands of a feather."</p><p>"Yeah, you're not wrong," Audrey replied. Then another idea came to her. "Now that you mention it, I don't think I've ever smelled a dandelion before..."</p><p>She left the trailer once more, and then came back inside with another dandelion. She shut the door behind her this time around.</p><p>"Uh, Audrey?" Dot balled up her tissue and threw it away as well. "I don't think you want to sniff it directly; it won't be good for your nose or throat."</p><p>"If it isn't, then that's why I'll only do this once," Audrey replied.</p><p>Audrey then held the dandelion directly underneath her nose, making sure she had just enough room in her lungs as she did so. Then she gave the biggest, deepest sniff she could muster, sending all of the dandelion's pollen floating into her nostrils.</p><p>It was then that her eyes widened, her pupils shrunk, and her nose froze for a moment. Then it began to rumble in irritation, and her nostrils began to flare up to twice their normal size. She gave a hasty, but desperate buildup, and then began to sneeze.</p><p>"HEH-- HAH-- AAAAHHHHHH-- CHOOOOO!!! HAH-CHOOOOO!!! AHHH-TCHOOOO!!! EHHH-CHUUUU!!! HEHHH-TCHOOOOO!! AAAAH-CHUUUUU!!! HAAAAH-CHEEEEWWWW!!! HUH-SHUUUUU!!! HEEEEHHHH-SHEEEEEWWWWW!!!"</p><p>Every one of Audrey's sneezes fired saliva, mucus and dandelion seeds from her mouth and nose. She brought her neck back and forward each time she released one. Dot stood where she was, watching in disbelief. She had seen Audrey have some sneezing fits of varying intensities before, but this was pretty intense.</p><p>"Huuuh... HuuuUUUUH..." Audrey inhaled, her nose red with irritation and twitching rapidly. This last sneeze she would release was going to be a big one. "HEEEEEEEEEHHHHHHHH-TTTTTSSSSSHHHHHHHHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!"</p><p>And sure enough, it was - a large amount of mucus escaped from Audrey's nose, although Dot was lucky she wasn't sprayed. Dot pulled about three tissues out from the box close to her, and then went over to Audrey. Audrey still had her eyes shut, but now she was rubbing her nose with her forefinger.</p><p>"Gesundheit, Audrey," Dot said as she offered her the tissues.</p><p>"Thanks." Audrey opened her eyes halfway, then took the tissues and blew her nose loudly into them. It took her about three seconds before she had to stop and catch her breath. She rolled her eyes involuntarily as she wiped her nose.</p><p>"I have to admit, that was quite an intense sneeze attack you had there," Dot mentioned. "Even more intense than the sneeze I released from the dandelion earlier."</p><p>"It sure was..." Audrey sniffled loudly, her nostrils briefly growing beneath the tissues in her hands.</p><p>"Are you alright?"</p><p>"Yeah, just a little worn out." Audrey pulled her tissues away from her nose, then balled them up and threw them away. "Maybe we can do some more sneezy stuff tomorrow."</p><p>"That sounds like a good idea. And speaking of tomorrow..." Dot turned her head to look out the window. She could see the sun setting into the mountains beyond, and the sky was turning an orange shade. "We have about a minute and a half of sunlight left, so it's time to go home."</p><p>She and Audrey made their way out of the door to the trailer. Once they were outside, Audrey turned to look at Dot with a smile.</p><p>"Dot?"</p><p>"Yes, Audrey?</p><p>"Thanks for helping me feel better," Audrey said. "I guess I didn't know if we could still have fun without Lotta. But you proved me that we can, so... Thank you."</p><p>Dot smiled as well. "You're welcome, Audrey."</p><p>Audrey went over to hug her, and she did the same to her. They kept one another in each other's arms for a few lovely moments, and then they let go. They each made their way to their house, with Audrey waving goodbye to Dot and Dot waving goodbye to Audrey. Just as the sun had disappeared from the sky, which had then become a dark blue and covered with stars, they had both made it to their homes where their families were waiting.</p><p>Audrey and Dot had dinner - Audrey had a bowl of macaroni and cheese, while Dot had a salad - and then each took a bath to clean themselves off after the day. Then they put on their pajamas and crawled into their beds - Audrey's mother wished her goodnight with a kiss on the forehead, while one of Dot's fathers wished her goodnight by kissing her on the cheek. As the two girls fell asleep less than an hour later, they could hear the crickets chirping outside.</p><p>If anything, this day had proven to Audrey and Dot that having one less best friend wouldn't be so bad. It wouldn't be the same, of course, but as Dot had mentioned, they still had each other. The best way to deal with a change was to accept it, after all; that was why they were going to make the best of spending extra time together, one little day at a time.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Chapter 4</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Minutes passed by, a great many minutes. Soon the sun began to rise into the sky, which slowly turned from dark blue to a much lighter shade. Before long, you could hear the sound of birds chirping wherever you went. It was another lovely morning in Harvey Street.</p><p>As the sun gently rose outside, Audrey and Dot were still sleeping in their beds. But it wasn't until a few minutes before seven did they open their eyes as they awoke. Dot yawned into her hand, but Audrey just rubbed her eyes, since she didn't need to yawn. Then they stepped out of their beds and headed into their bathrooms to wash up.</p><p>Two long, warm and bubbly baths later, the girls dried off and put on their regular clothes, which they'd brought into the bathroom just after they'd gotten out of bed. Then they brushed their teeth with their own toothbrushes and preferred brands of toothpaste.</p><p>The rays of the sun now making their way through each of the windows of the girls' houses, Audrey and Dot went down the stairs and into their respective kitchens. They had breakfast - Audrey had a bowl of marshmallow cereal mixed with some cool milk, while Dot had some toast that was browned to perfection and placed between a sweet layer of creamy peanut butter.</p><p>Finally, they were ready to leave the house and go about their day. Audrey wished her mother goodbye, while Dot reassured both of her dads that she would be alright, and then the girls made their ways out the front doors. When they saw each other come out of their houses, they smiled in unison. They walked a bit, then met up on one of the sidewalks.</p><p>"Good morning, Audrey," said Dot.</p><p>"Morning, Dot," replied Audrey. "How'd you sleep?"</p><p>"I slept alright, thank you. How about you?" Dot wanted to know.</p><p>"It kind of took me a while," Audrey admitted, "but when I finally did, I was out like a light. You ready for another day of fun?"</p><p>"I certainly am. But let's keep our eyes and ears out for any kids who want our help out of a problem or danger, okay?"</p><p>Audrey nodded in understanding, and then she and Dot made their way over to their trailer. Along the way, however, Dot brought her arms up to her upper body and shivered a bit. When Audrey turned her head to look at her, she became a bit concerned.</p><p>"What's the matter, Dot?"</p><p>"It's a bit chilly this morning..." Dot mentioned. Suddenly she felt a tickle in her nose, and quickly brought her arm up to sneeze into. "Ehh, hehh... Heeehhh-tshuuuu!"</p><p>"...ugh..." Dot then sulked as she rubbed her nose slowly with her forefinger, the one that belonged to the same arm she'd sneezed into. "Excuse me."</p><p>"Ah, it's alright. Bless you," said Audrey. "Let's spend some time inside before you get any colder."</p><p>She opened up the front door to the trailer and headed inside, but kept the door open so that Dot could come inside. She was still rubbing her nose, which felt a bit runny now that she had sneezed. So she pulled out a tissue from the nearest box she could find and blew her nose rather loudly.</p><p>"Sounds like you're catching a cold," said Audrey.</p><p>But Dot shook her head in disagreement, and then explained as she wiped her nose with her tissue. "You can't really catch a cold from being cold most of the time; you can develop similar symptoms, but they tend to be reflexive rather than illness-related."</p><p>"And besides, one of the only ways you can really catch a cold is by making contact with - or spending too much time around - someone who already has a cold."</p><p>"Yeah, that makes sense," replied Audrey.</p><p>Now that Dot's nose was feeling more satisfied, she threw away her tissue and washed her hands at the sink. By the time she'd dried them off, Audrey had already gotten an idea.</p><p>"Wanna play catch like we did yesterday? We can use something else this time - oh, and be more careful."</p><p>"Well, I suppose I don't see why not," Dot said.</p><p>"Sweet." Audrey smiled with excitement. "I'll look in the toy box and see what we can use."</p><p>She went over to the toy box, placed both of her hands on the lid, and then pulled upward to open it up. She then looked through the box for something to play catch with. After a few minutes, she spotted a small red ball - just small enough to fit in someone's hand - and pulled it out of the box. Audrey then showed the ball to her friend.</p><p>"How about this?"</p><p>"If you'd like to play with it, I'll be happy to join you," said Dot.</p><p>Audrey then made her way out of the trailer with the ball in her hand, while Dot followed her from behind. The two girls stood about a foot away from each other, and then Audrey threw the ball. Dot caught it just by holding her arm up at the right time, and then threw it back at her. It took Audrey a couple of backward steps before she could catch it.</p><p>The girls' game continued for a while, and neither of them kept track of how many times one of them caught the ball. One of them missed the ball once or twice, but the ball didn't wind up lost like the flying disc did the day before; it simply landed a few inches past them, and they both shared a laugh over their mis-throw.</p><p>A few minutes later, however, Audrey got a bit bored of the game. Her expression didn't say otherwise, however, nor did she state it directly. All she had to do to let her friend know was ask this.</p><p>"How about we do something else now, Dot?"</p><p>And Dot's response was, "Very well, then."</p><p>She passed the ball back to Audrey, and she caught it for the final time. Then they went back into the trailer, and Dot watched as her friend put their ball back in the toy box for next time.</p><p>"Now that we're finished with our game of catch," said Dot, "what would you like to do next, Audrey?"</p><p>Audrey thought for a moment, and then came up with an idea. "Let's play hide and seek!"</p><p>Dot smiled at the idea. "That's a great idea; I don't remember the last time we played that, anyway, with Lotta or without. Would you like to be the one to hide, or the one to seek?"</p><p>"We'll play it at least twice," said Audrey. "I'll hide and then you seek, and if you find me, I'll let you hide so I can seek."</p><p>"Sounds like a plan," replied Dot.</p><p>She and Audrey then made their way back out of the trailer. Dot stood at one of the walls of the trailer, then turned around and began to count. She closed her eyes, but placed her hands over them just to make sure she wouldn't be able to see. Audrey, meanwhile, saw her chance and ran away.</p><p>"One... two... three..." Dot counted. "Four... five... six... seven..."</p><p>While Dot was counting, Audrey turned her head this way and that, trying to find a good place to hide. Finally she found a good spot behind some trees and smiled before she ran over to them. She then got down on her hands and knees, stifling a laugh. This was going to be fun...</p><p>"Fifteen... sixteen... seventeen... eighteen... nineteen... twenty!" Dot pulled her hands away from her eyes and turned away from the trailer. "Ready or not, here I come!"</p><p>She then began to look around for her friend. She looked underneath the trailer, as well as around the trailer, but couldn't find Audrey. She then found some rocks and trees close to the trailer and went over to check them. She didn't see her behind the trees, either, nor was she behind any of the rocks.</p><p>Audrey stayed where she was, giggling to herself in amusement. She stopped herself before she became too audible, however - she didn't want Dot to overhear her. But when she noticed her friend, standing a few feet away and turning her head this way and that, her eyes widened and she kept as still as she could. Dot approached the trees, but then noticed one of Audrey's shoes were poking out from one of the trees. A slow smile appeared on her face as she approached her.</p><p>Audrey tried not to many any more noise, but she'd already been spotted. But she stayed where she was as Dot got close to her.</p><p>"Well, Audrey, it looks like I've found you," Dot said, "on account of your rather obvious hiding place."</p><p>She chuckled, and Audrey stood up as she laughed as well. She didn't mind losing a game of hide and seek; she and her friend didn't care who won and who lost as long as they had fun playing it.</p><p>"And since I've been found, I might as well be next to seek," Audrey replied.</p><p>She and Dot made their way back to the trailer, making sure they were at the exact spot where Dot had counted before Audrey had hidden. This time, however, Audrey was the one who turned to face the wall of the trailer and slid her hands over her eyes.</p><p>"One... two... three... four..." Audrey began to count. "Five... six... seven... eight..."</p><p>Seeing her chance, Dot walked away from her. Dot had made a plan to hide at a more creative spot than her friend had hidden - as in, not behind one of those trees. Luckily, she was able to find the perfect place to hide right before her friend was done counting.</p><p>"Sixteen... seventeen... eighteen... nineteen... and twenty!" Audrey pulled her hands away from her eyes and turned back around. "Ready or not, here I come!"</p><p>It was from there that Audrey began her search for Dot. She turned her head this way and that as she walked around the area, looking for her friend. What she didn't know was what spot Dot had chosen to hide.</p><p>Dot was watching for her friend from the play tower, giggling quietly to herself. The fencing that surrounded her so she wouldn't accidentally fall off was keeping her hidden quite well, although she could still be partially seen through the holes. When she saw Audrey approaching the playground, she ducked down to keep herself as much out of her view as she could. Even though she couldn't see her friend trying to find her, she could still tell that was what she was doing.</p><p>Just then, an idea came to Dot. She had found something while she was looking for a place to hide a few minutes ago, and she decided that she wanted to end this game rather early so she could focus on that instead. And she knew exactly how to do that: to intentionally give her position away to Audrey.</p><p>"Ah... Hehh..." Dot tilted her neck back as she gave a few fake inhales, acting like she was going to sneeze. She wasn't, of course - she was doing this just for fun.</p><p>Audrey stopped where she was as she heard the inhales. She turned her head this way and that for a few seconds, and then looked up at the play tower. She made her way over to it, but before she could place her hand on the ladder, she heard Dot pretending to sneeze.</p><p>"Ah-choo!" It sounded quite different than her normal sneeze, but hearing it made her friend chuckle a bit.</p><p>Audrey then made her way up the ladder, and spotted her friend as soon as she made it to the top. Dot turned her head to look at her and pretended to be embarrassed - but then she couldn't help but laugh. Audrey laughed as well, knowing that her friend didn't actually sneeze.</p><p>"Looks like you've lost, Dot," said Audrey.</p><p>"Yes, but it's quite alright," Dot replied as she stood back up. "I was intending to give myself away, anyway."</p><p>"So now that we've played twice," Audrey said, "what do you wanna do now?"</p><p>"Well, I did find something on the ground while I was looking for my hiding place," Dot admitted. "How would you like me to show it to you?"</p><p>"Sounds good," Audrey replied with a smile.</p><p>"Very well, then. But I'll show you in the trailer; it'd be a bit embarrassing if one of the other kids saw us with it."</p><p>Audrey nodded in understanding. Then she and Dot climbed down from the tower and walked away from the playground. A few minutes passed, and finally, Audrey and Dot were back inside their trailer. Dot closed the door behind them once they'd come inside.</p><p>"So what is it that you found, Dot?" Audrey wanted to know.</p><p>Dot reached into the pocket of her tunic and pulled it out. As she did so, she revealed what it was to Audrey: it was a small but beautiful feather, one that was as white as a cloud and soft to the touch. Audrey was astounded that her friend was able to find one of these.</p><p>"Wow..." said Audrey.</p><p>"Indeed, wow," Dot replied in agreement. "This isn't something I see every day, so I wanted to keep it as a little souvenir."</p><p>"I can see why," Audrey replied with a smile. "I'd probably wanna keep one of those if I'd found one, too."</p><p>"And as for why I wanted to show you this," Dot went on, and then paused. A playful smile slowly appeared on her face, after which she finished. "Let's just say I wanted to do this."</p><p>She brought the feather over to Audrey's face and began to wiggle it softly against the side of her neck. Audrey's reaction was instant; she giggled audibly, and then moved away from Dot.</p><p>"Hey! What'd you do that for?" Audrey asked, bringing her hand up and covering the spot on her neck where Dot had tickled her.</p><p>But Dot just smiled even more and moved the feather over to Audrey's hand. She tickled her there a bit as well, which made her smile and blush, but it didn't quite tickle her enough to make her laugh. Audrey pulled her hand away from it to stop the tickling, and then Dot thought for a moment. She must have been thinking of where to tickle Audrey next.</p><p>Just then, an idea came to her, and she pulled up Audrey's shirt. She began to move her feather around on Audrey's belly, causing Audrey to laugh even more.</p><p>"Hahahaha, hahahahaha!" Audrey began to laugh even more. "D-Dot!! Hahaha, it tickles!! Hahahahaha!"</p><p>Dot giggled in response, since she could tell it did. She continued to tickle Audrey's tummy, wiggling the feather back and forth. Occasionally she moved it into and out of her belly button, but Audrey was laughing all the while.</p><p>"Hahahahahahahaha!! Stop it!! Ahahahahahahaha!!"</p><p>"Hmm, I don't think so," Dot replied, in a sarcastic but playful way.</p><p>"Dot, I'm serious! That-- Hahahahahahaha!! That tickles!! Hahahahaha, hahahahahahaha!!"</p><p>Dot continued tickling Audrey's belly for a few seconds, but then looked down at her shoes. An idea came to her, and she pulled her feather away from Audrey's belly. She let go of her shirt as well, and Audrey stood where she was. She panted a few times, trying to catch her breath.</p><p>"I wonder..." Dot said to herself. She turned back to look at Audrey. "Audrey, would you please sit down?"</p><p>Audrey nodded and did as she was told, so that her feet were sticking out. What she didn't realize, however, was just why Dot had asked her to do that. The next thing Audrey knew, Dot had pulled the laces off of one of her shoes, and then removed that same shoe. Audrey's eyes widened and pupils shrunk in disbelief.</p><p>"No... no!" Audrey said, holding her hands out in front of her. "Please!"</p><p>But Dot just smiled and held her feather to Audrey's foot, then began to move it up and down gently. Audrey put her hand to her mouth as she smiled widely and snickered. But as Dot continued to tickle her foot, she gave in and laughed quite hard.</p><p>"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!"</p><p>Dot couldn't help but chuckle as she heard Audrey's laugh. So she kept on tickling her, moving her feather here and there upon her foot. She even teased her a bit.</p><p>"Tickle tickle tickle~!"</p><p>"AHAHAHAHAHAHA, HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!" Audrey replied, squirming around and wiggling her toes cutely.</p><p>Almost a minute had gone by before Dot finally stopped tickling her friend, and pulled her feather away from her foot. Audrey sat where she was, panting with her hand on her chest as she tried to catch her breath.</p><p>"Oh... oh, man..." Audrey muttered to herself. "D-did you have to do that, Dot?"</p><p>Dot giggled a bit. "I'm sorry, Audrey," she apologized. "The moment I found this feather, I simply couldn't resist tickling someone with it..."</p><p>As Audrey caught her breath, she smiled and chuckled a bit. Not out of being tickled, but because of amusement.</p><p>"You know what, Dot? It's alright," said Audrey. "I know how that feels."</p><p>Just then, Audrey took a brief look at the feather in Dot's hand. An idea came to her, and she smiled playfully. She reached over to her socks, which Dot had removed prior to tickling her feet, and then slipped them back on. Then she picked up her shoes and put them back on as well, making sure to tie the laces to keep them on her feet.</p><p>"Say, Dot?" Audrey started, standing up now that her shoes were back on. "Could I see that for a minute? There's something I wanna do with it."</p><p>"Of course, Audrey." Dot didn't seem to suspect what her friend was up to. She handed the feather to her.</p><p>Almost as soon as Audrey had taken it, she began to wiggle it on the side of Dot's face. Dot gasped at first, but then giggled cutely. Then she took a step back, placing her hand over where Audrey had tickled her.</p><p>Audrey kept her smile when she saw her do that. "What's the matter, Dot? You ticklish?"</p><p>Dot blushed a bit. "I-I might be..."</p><p>But Audrey kept her smile and moved back up to her. She placed the tip of Dot's feather onto Dot's belly and began to move it around. Although it was covered by her tunic, it still tickled, and she began to laugh more audibly.</p><p>"Hahahahaha, hahahahahahahahaha!!" Dot held out her hands, trying to defend herself from the tickles. It wasn't working, however.</p><p>Audrey couldn't help but chuckle to herself as she heard Dot's laughter. Even if it sounded different from her own, it still sounded cute. But then an idea occurred to her: if tickling her with this feather while she had her tunic covering her sensitive areas was still enough to tickle her, then what if she tickled her in the same spots without her tunic in the way? Audrey reached down to move Dot's shirt upward a bit, revealing part of her tummy, and then began to tickle her there.</p><p>Dot blushed as her laughter increased right then and there. "HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!! AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!"</p><p>Audrey smiled once more, her theory having been proven correct. She continued to tickle Dot with her feather, wiggling it back and forth on her belly and sides.</p><p>"Ticky-ticky, tickle-tickle~!" said Audrey.</p><p>"HAHAHAHAHA, AUDREYHYHYHYHY!! *gasp* IT TICKLESSSS!!! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!" Dot replied.</p><p>"Does it?" Audrey asked, playfully. Dot could only reply with more laughter and giggling, but it was alright; hearing it made Audrey laugh as well.</p><p>After a few minutes, Audrey finally decided Dot had had enough tickling. She pulled the feather away from her body, looking on in amusement at her friend. Dot stood where she was, holding her sides with both of her hands as she tried to catch her breath.</p><p>"Oh, Audrey... did you... have to...?" Dot managed to ask in between her panting.</p><p>"Well, you did tickle me first, so... yeah." Audrey chuckled a bit.</p><p>Dot took a minute to catch her breath, but then smiled and giggled as well.</p><p>"It's alright, Audrey. I suppose I got what I deserved. And besides, I can't stay mad at you."</p><p>That being said, just after she'd finished speaking, Dot felt a tickle in her nose. She looked down at her nose, seeing it wiggle around a bit as her nostrils flared slightly. But the tickle wasn't strong enough to make her sneeze; just enough to make her acknowledge it.</p><p>"Um, Audrey?" Dot asked.</p><p>"Yeah?"</p><p>"My nose feels a bit ticklish..." Dot sniffled once, and then brought her arm up to rub her nose. It didn't seem to help much.</p><p>But when she saw that her friend's nose was twitching, a playful smile began to appear on Audrey's face.</p><p>"I think I know what you want me to do about it," said Audrey.</p><p>"You mean, tickle my nose?"</p><p>Audrey gave a couple of nods, and Dot replied with a smile. She removed her arm from her nose.</p><p>"Very well, then. If you think it'll help me sneeze, feel free to do it."</p><p>Audrey held the feather in her hand, then brought it over to Dot's face. When the tip of that feather was right underneath Dot's nose, she began to move it back and forth. It wasn't long after she started did Dot's nose twitch even more - and her nostrils began to flare up. Her eyelids lowered as they twitched as well.</p><p>"Heehhh..." Dot inhaled, her breath hitching involuntarily. "Haaaaahhhh..." She tilted her neck back, and her eyelids fell closed. There was no doubt about it, she was going to sneeze. "Aaaaaaaaah..."</p><p>Audrey continued to tickle Dot's nose for a few seconds, but then realized that the sneeze was about to come out. She pulled the feather away from her friend's nose and took a few hasty steps back. Dot tilted her neck as far back as it could go, her nostrils flaring as widely as they could go, and finally exploded. And for once, she didn't bring her arm up to cover her mouth.</p><p>"HAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH-SHEEEEEEEEEWWWWWWWWW!!!"</p><p>Dot shot her neck forwards, with a good amount of spray being released from her mouth. It was quite a loud sneeze, too; hearing it caused Audrey to wince. And just as Dot thought she had lost her breath, two more sneezes slipped out without warning.</p><p>"Aaaah-chuuuu!! Heeehhh-chyewwww!!"</p><p>Neither of these sneezes were nearly as loud as the massive one before them, but they were still pretty forceful. Dot then sulked as she rubbed her nose gingerly with her right forefinger.</p><p>"Wow..." Audrey said in disbelief. "Gesundheit, Dot!"</p><p>"Thank you." Dot sniffled and continued to rub her nose, looking quite cute as she did so. "And thanks for getting that sneeze out for me; I feel about seventy-five to eighty-five percent better."</p><p>"Don't mention it," Audrey replied with a smile. "Anything for you." She then remembered that she still had Dot's feather in her hand. So she held it out to her friend, offering it to her. "You want this back?"</p><p>Dot removed her forefinger from her nose, took her feather back, and placed it in the pocket of her tunic. She was as careful as she could, so as not to bend or twist the delicate object.</p><p>"Thanks, Audrey."</p><p>"So now that we've gotten that over with," Audrey then asked, "what do you wanna do now?"</p><p>"I'm not sure, exactly," Dot mentioned. "But I'm sure we can come up with something soon enough."</p><p>"Yeah, probably."</p><p>With that, she and Dot began to think about what to do next.</p>
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